Lindsey Jacobellis of the U.S. failed to make it to the medal round. She was leading in her semifinal race when she crashed near the end of the slushy course at Rosa Khutor Extreme Park. Jacobellis recovered to win the consolation final.

It marked the third straight disappointing Olympic finish for the eight-time X Games winner. Jacobellis had gold in her hand in Turin in 2006 only to fall while attempting a fancy grab with a big lead in the final. She recovered for silver.

Four years ago in Vancouver, Jacobellis was in the semifinals when she washed out early in her run.

Even if Jacobellis managed to remain upright, it would have been hard for her to catch Samkova, who wore a camera on her helmet to capture the action. The footage proved to be pretty boring.

At no point during snowboarding's version of NASCAR did she appear to be in any trouble. She was the fastest in qualifying by nearly a full second over Jacobellis and appeared only to get faster as the day wore on.

The flag of her home country painted just above her lip, Samkova gave one quick peek back to the field in the finals. No worries, Maltais was well behind. Samkova thrust her arms into the air after crossing the finish line then started a giddy celebration. She threw her board toward the flower stand before receiving hugs from her fellow competitors.

Considering the way she was riding, gold was out of the question for everyone else. Maltais, who won bronze in Turin, bookended it with a solid second-place run while Trespeuch held off Faye Gulini of the U.S. for bronze.

On the same slope where Russian skicross racer Maria Komissarova sustained a severe spinal injury on Saturday, the unforgiving course took out its fair share of competitors.

Jackie Hernandez of the U.S. sustained a concussion after smacking her head into the snow during qualifying. She was treated and released but was unable to compete in the elimination rounds.

WOMEN'S ICE HOCKEY

Julie Chu's injury isn't serious enough to keep her out of the U.S. women's hockey team's Olympic semifinal against Switzerland.

That's what coach Katey Stone said Sunday.

Chu was injured in practice on Saturday, leaving early while holding her left hand gingerly. She did not practice on Sunday, the second of two straight off-days, but she worked out and was seen walking alongside the rink holding a water bottle in her unbandaged left hand.

Chu has played in every Olympics since Salt Lake City. She wasn't made available to reporters but Stone said she'll be fine and ready for the game on Monday.

Stone said, "Everybody that's a four-time Olympian got the day off today."

Stone also said Sunday that Jesse Vetter will start in goal for the semifinal.

MEN'S CURLING

Sweden and Canada became the first men's teams to qualify for the Olympic curling semifinals on Sunday, and Britain missed the chance to join them by losing to Norway.

Playing in front of their king, Carl XVI Gustaf, the Swedes beat Russia 8-4 in nine ends to move into the outright lead at 7-1. They are the reigning world champions.

Canada (6-2) stole a point at the last end to secure an 8-6 win over the U.S., which now cannot qualify.

Norway (4-3) staved off elimination with a 7-6 win over Britain (5-3), ensuring there will be plenty to play for going into the final day of round-robin action Monday.

"It was one of the most important games of our career," said Haavard Vad Petersson, who was part of the Norway team that won an Olympic silver medal in 2010. "We had to win this one to stay alive.

"We have won a medal before but we want to get gold."

The Canadians didn't know they had qualified when they came off the ice after a tense win over the U.S. team, but they soon were celebrating.

Even if the Canadians lose their last game -- to China in the evening session -- the worst they could finish is tied at 6-3 with Norway and Britain. They would qualify on a superior head-to-head record, the Canadian Curling Association confirmed.

"We played all right, definitely not our best, but it's still good to get the win knowing that we didn't put our best performance together," Canada skip Brad Jacobs said.

The game came down to the final shot, delivered by U.S. skip John Shuster. His draw settled around the button next to a Canadian stone, which was closer by barely half an inch.

"Sometimes you are on the right side and sometimes on the wrong side," Shuster said. "It just sucks that we've been on the wrong side at the Olympics."

The Americans are 2-5.

WOMEN'S CURLING

Canada, which qualified for the semis on Saturday, guaranteed the top seed in the playoffs by beating the United States 7-6 in an extra end for an eighth straight win. If the Canadians beat South Korea on Monday, they will become the first women's team to go through an Olympic round-robin campaign undefeated.

Canada decided to stick with the same lineup -- leaving Kirsten Wall as alternate again -- and keep the momentum going.

Skip Jennifer Jones was down on her accuracy against the U.S. team and gave up a steal in the 10th to take the game to overtime. Canada had the hammer, though, and Jones made a routine draw for victory.

"We are finding a way to be in control of the game and have our fate in our own hands," Jones said. "That's a great feeling to have."

The American women are 1-7 and on track to finish in last place for the second straight Olympics.

"We're not giving up," U.S. player Debbie McCormick (Rio, Wis.) said. "We finally got our mojo back, but unfortunately it was just a little too late."

WOMEN'S SPEEDSKATING

Jorien ter Mors led another Netherlands sweep at Adler Arena, beating favorite Ireen Wust in the women's 1,500 meters Sunday and setting up a shot at becoming the first skater to win medals in both long and short track.

Competing in an early pairing, Ter Mors turned in a stunning time of 1 minute, 53.51 seconds, an Olympic record and the second-fastest ever at sea level. The only skater to go quicker was Wust at the Dutch Olympic trials in December.

Wust settled for silver this time in 1:54.09, with the bronze going to Lotte van Beek in 1:54.54.

If a fourth medal had been available, the Dutch would've snatched it, too.

Marrit Leenstra finished fourth, knocked off the podium by Van Beek in the final pairing.

At the other end of the scale are the Americans, who had another dismal day at the big oval. Heather Richardson of High Point, N.C., finished seventh, Brittany Bowe of Ocala, Fla., struggled to a 14th-place finish, and Jilleanne Rookard of Woodhaven, Mich., was 18th.

Despite switching suits in a desperate bid to change their fortunes, the Americans are facing the very real possibility of their first medal shutout in speedskating since the 1984 Sarajevo Olympics.

"Today was actually pretty good," said Richardson, calling it her second-fastest time at sea level. "I just wanted to go out and have fun. I was so much more relaxed than I've been at any point during this competition."

MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY

Sweden successfully defended its Olympic gold in the men's 4-by-10-kilometer cross-country relay on Sunday to become the first country in 42 years to win both the men's and women's team events in the same Winter Games.

A day after its women's team earned a narrow come-from-behind victory, Sweden's anchor Marcus Hellner skied alone for the entire final leg and was so far ahead he could leisurely ski down the final straight waving a Swedish flag.

Russia took silver in front of President Vladimir Putin. France finished third.